Hurricanes offseason moves brings wave of change

No professional sports franchise can remain stagnant and hope to succeed.

Whether it is during the season or in between, change is constant. Sometimes that change is a slight alteration around the edges. Sometimes the changes can be wholesale. The changes can be made by management discretion, ownership dictates, or factors beyond the team’s control, such free agency. The Carolina Hurricanes fell short of their goal of winning the Stanley Cup this past playoff season. They did so with a roster filled with free agents who could not all be retained. That factor alone was going to lead to an off-season of significant roster turnover.

The most significant off ice move the organization made occurred before any personnel moves were implemented. The organization reached a player development agreement with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. In 2023-2024. The Hurricanes had no AHL affiliate. The inability to have all their prospects under one organizational umbrella hindered player development. Prospects were loaned to numerous AHL franchises. Because these prospects were not members of the parent organization, there was no guarantee that they would play in a system consistent with the Hurricanes, or that they would not receive sufficient ice team that would go to the receiving club’s prospects.

Also, when they need arises to recall players from the AHL, geographic location would play as big of a factor as positional fit. Sometimes prospects would be assigned East Coast Hockey League’s Norfolk Admirals. A move that also hindered development. Having a three year agreement with the Wolves, supplemented by a similar arrangement with the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison, relieves the less than ideal development concerns.

With the affiliate equation settled, Carolina turned their attention to the NHL Entry Draft. Through the draft, the Hurricanes were able to add 10 new prospects, highlighted by a pair of overseas defensive prospects, Dominik Badinka and Nikita Artamov. None of the players will directly impact on the roster for the upcoming season and a few more beyond. However, it helps replenish the system with players to help keep the franchise as a Stanley Cup contenders in future seasons. They are also potential trade chips to be used to supplement this year’s squad should the need arise. The Hurricanes think so highly of Badinka that he has already been signed to a three year entry level contract. That contract kicks in once Badinka begins play in the NHL.

Having secured the development system and restocked the prospects shelves, Hurricanes’ General Manager Eric Tulsky set about the business of recasting the NHL roster. With multiple unrestricted and restricted free agents, defections were inevitable. Tulsky had to see who the departures would be before searching for adequate replacements. His first move was to trade the rights to forward Jake Guentzel who was one of his prime additions at the 2024 trade deadline. Contract talks stalled to the point that it became evident that Guentzel would not re-sign in Raleigh. Rather than losing Guentzel for nothing, a player that he surrendered forward Michael Bunting, three premium prospects, and a second round draft pick to obtain, Tulsky traded Guentzel’s rights to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who signed him to a lucrative deal.

The NHL free agency period began on July 1st. It was not long before it was evident the exodus would be significant. Lost to other NHL teams were the Hurricanes’ two longest tenured players, forward Temo Teravainen to the Chicago Black Hawks and defenseman Brett Pesce to the New Jersey Devils. Joining Pesce in Newark will be versatile forward Stefan Noesen. The defense took another hit when dependable, top four, defenseman Brady Skjei departed for the Nashville Predators. Tulsky made an additional trade by sending depth defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the Winnipeg Jets. Coghlan was a restricted free agent who was unlikely to receive a tender offer. Tulsky did not submit a tender offer to restricted free agent forward Max Comotis, making him an unrestricted free agent. Comotis then signed a contract with Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. The final departure happened when the Hurricanes terminated the contracted of forward Evgeny Kuznetsov. Like Comotis, Kuznetsov used his free agency to also sign with the KHL. That transaction freed the Hurricanes of their 50% obligation on Kuznetsov’s $7.8 million salary for 2024-2025.

Once the exit rotation of the revolving door had stopped, Tulsky was faced with the task of plugging the newly created holes. He quickly struck deals with forwards Jack Roslovic from the New York Rangers, William Carrier from the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and Tyson Jost and Eric Roberston from the Buffalo Sabres. He reconstituted his defensive unit by bringing in Shayne Ghostisbehere from the Detroit Red Wings and Sean Walker from the Colorado Avalanche.

Tulsky also had internal maintenance to attend to, as well. He re-signed forwards Jack Drury, Jordan Martinook, and Ryan Suzuki. He tendered contract offers to breakout young stars forward Seth Jarvis and defenseman Martin Necas, thus keeping them in the fold for at least the upcoming campaign. The situation between Necas and the Hurricanes remains tense. He has made no secret of his desire to play elsewhere and filed for salary arbitration. This is a double edge sword for Tulsky and the Hurricanes. Arbitration hearings can get personal and messy. There is a significant risk that the relationship between the parties further deteriorates. By filing for arbitration, Necas cannot receive a contract offer from another team, thus preventing him from departing for nothing more than draft pick compensation. His tenure in Raleigh is expected to last no longer than the trade deadline next spring.

By adding the Wolves to the organization, Tulsky also assumed the responsibility of stocking the Wolves roster. Initial pieces are in place with prospects recently signed to ELCs such as defenseman Scott Morrow and forwards Jackson Blake, Bradley Nadeau, and Felix Unger Sorum. Not wanting to throw his prodigies to the Wolves, as it were, Tulsky signed multiple veterans to two-way contracts. These players could be called upon to help the parent club, but their greatest value will be to provide a calm, experienced example for the prospects. The first player he tabbed was his own defenseman, Ty Smith. Smith arrived from the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Guentzel. He supplemented the Smith signings with Riley Stillman who arrived from the Sabres organization and Joakim Ryan from Malmo of the Swedish Hockey League. Stillman’s father Cory won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006. To provide stability at the forward position, Tulsky signed Josiah Slavin out of the Toronto Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

Any further transactions between now and Opening Night figure to be minor. However, after the dust had settled on the whirlwind of activity, Tulsky finds himself with $13,856,667 in salary cap space. That is 5th most in the NHL. His new roster is similar in youth. Last season the average age of the Hurricanes roster was 27.5 years old. The current roster is 28.0 years old which is currently 14th in NHL.

If he decides the composition of the team is not one to compete for the Stanley Cup, he has financial flexibility to add a veteran without making the team older and slower. Tulsky has finished the heavy lifting to prepare for the upcoming season and can take a breath. But only a brief one and then it is back to work.